by Stephen Lendman
Since early 2011, Obama’s been waging proxy war on Syria. Imported death squads masquerade as freedom fighters. The scheme’s familiar. It repeats. It reflects US imperialism’s dark side. In the 1980s, CIA-recruited mujahideen fighters battled Afghanistan’s Soviet occupiers. Ronald Reagan called them “the moral equivalent of our founding fathers.” He characterized Contra killers the same way.
Naked aggression is called humanitarian intervention. New wars follow earlier ones. Ravaging humanity is called liberation. Nations are destroyed for their own good. Propaganda convinces people that America is threatened. Truth is turned on its head.
Syria is Washington’s latest target. Plans haven’t gone as expected. Ousting another government was supposed to be easy. US-enlisted terrorists are no match against Syria’s military superiority.
S-300 anti aircraft-missile defense systems, on mobile platforms. Many nations in Washington’s crosshairs could use them. Venezuela ordered S-300VM “Antey-2500” to equip 12 Regiments. The missiles were delivered in May 2012. The S-300 system was first deployed by the Soviet Union in 1979, designed for the air defense of large industrial and administrative facilities, military bases, and control of airspace against enemy strike aircraft. The S-300 is regarded as one of the most potent anti-aircraft missile systems currently fielded.[3] Its radars have the ability to simultaneously track up to 100 targets while engaging up to 12. S-300 deployment time is five minutes.[3] The S-300 missiles are sealed rounds and require no maintenance over their lifetime. An evolved version of the S-300 system is the S-400 (NATO reporting name SA-21 Growler), entering limited service in 2004. (Wikipedia)
Another previous article discussed a US-hatched scheme. It cited a no longer available UK Daily Mail article, saying:
“Leaked emails have allegedly proved that the White House gave the green light to a chemical weapons attack in Syria that could be blamed on Assad’s regime and in turn, spur international military action in the devastated country.”
[pullquote] Meanwhile, except for amplifying the State Department lies, the American media remain curiously incapable of initiating honest investigations into these grave matters. [/pullquote]“A report released on Monday contains an email exchange between two senior officials at British-based contractor Britam Defence where a scheme ‘approved by Washington’ is outlined explaining that Qatar would fund rebel forces in Syria to use chemical weapons.”
“Barack Obama made it clear to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad last month that the US would not tolerate Syria using chemical weapons against its own people.”
An SA-12 battery.
On Saturday, two car bombs exploded outside Reyhanli, Turkey’s city hall. Prime Minister Erdogan’s heading for Washington later this week. It wasn’t coincidental that bombings killed and injured Turkish citizens days before his arrival. It’s red meat for him and Obama to discuss.
Reyhanli’s close to Syria’s border. It’s a hub for Syrian refugees and anti-Assad insurgents. Dozens were killed. Many more were injured. Buildings were destroyed. Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said:
“We know that the Syrian refugees have become a target of the Syrian regime. Reyhanli was not chosen by coincidence.”
“Our thoughts are that their Mukhabarat (Syrian intelligence) and armed organizations are the usual suspects in planning and the carrying out of such devilish plans,” he added.
Turkey will “do whatever is necessary” if Syria ordered the attack.
Hurriyet Daily News said:
“Officials confirm(ed) link with Syrian intelligence.” Interior Minister Muammer Guler and Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay were cited.
Atalay said:
“We have to a great extent completed our work toward identifying the assailants.” How and what evidence corroborates it within hours of the attack he didn’t explain.
Legitimate forensic and other information gathering requires considerable time and analysis. A rush to judgment raises obvious questions. Reports said Turkey began deploying large numbers of air and ground forces to Reyhanli. What follows remains to be seen.
In mid-February, a car bomb struck the Cilvegozu Turkish/Syrian border crossing. At least eight died. Around 30 others were wounded. Anti-Assad elements blamed Syria. No evidence proved it.
Turkey and Western allies blame “the usual suspects.” It happens every time. Following Saturday’s bombings, a State Department press release said:
“The United States condemns today’s car bombings and we stand with our ally, Turkey.”
“This awful news strikes an especially personal note for all of us given how closely we work in partnership with Turkey, and how many times Turkey’s been a vital interlocutor at the center of my work as Secretary of State these last three months.”
“Our thoughts are with the wounded and we extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims.”
The glaring hypocrisy requires no comment.
NATO Secretary-General Fogh Rasmussen and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius expressed “full solidarity” with Turkey.
Washington’s Ankara embassy condemned the “murderous attack.” A statement said America “stands with the people and government of Turkey to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”
It left no ambiguity who’ll be blamed. The anti-Assad Syrian National Coalition suggested Assad’s involvement. A statement said:
“The Coalition sees these heinous terrorist acts as an attempt to take revenge on the Turkish people and punish them for their honorable support for the Syrian people, including their welcoming of Syrian refugees who have fled the regime’s crimes in their villages and cities.”
“The Coalition views this attack as a desperate and failed attempt to sow discord between the two peoples.”
Lebanon’s Daily Star published an AP report. It said Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi denied Damascus’ involvement in Saturday’s bombings.
“(N)o one has the right to make false accusations,” he said. (T)his is not the behavior of the Syrian government.”
“The Turkish government should be held responsible for what happened. It turned the border area into a center for international terrorism.”
Erdogan “must step down. He must not build his glory on the blood of Turks and Syrians.” Assad has no death wish. It’s inconceivable that he or other Syrian officials ordered the attack. Doing so would be madness.
Syria’s fully involved internally. It’s gone to great pains to avoid direct foreign intervention. Attacking a neighboring country would invite it. Responsibility lies with anti-Assad elements.
Perhaps Ankara planned and implemented the attack. Last October, an alleged Syrian mortar attack killed five Turkish nationals. Yurt is a Turkish newspaper. At the time, it said Prime Minister Erdogan acted on Washington’s behalf. His government supplied Free Syrian Army (FSA) elements with mortars.
The “bomber” used to launch them “is only used by NATO.” They were fired from FSA-controlled territory. False flags are commonly used. Washington prioritizes them. Turkey’s complicit in plans to topple Assad.
Years earlier, Turkey’s military hatched a plan to bomb internal mosques, down one of its own warplanes, blame Greece, and destabilize the newly-installed Islamist government. America has a long history of false flags. So do other NATO allies and Israel.
On Saturday, Lebanon’s Al-Manar television said five rockets fired from inside Syria struck Lebanese territory. They “landed in open areas of the Northern Beqaa region of Hermel. No casualties have been reported.”
“This was not the first time (anti-Assad) militiamen rockets passed Lebanon’s northern borders to target residential areas.”
Expect more incidents falsely blamed on Assad. Perhaps something major is planned. Doing so builds a case for war. It’s happening in plain sight.
On May 12, Haaretz headlined “Turkey blames Syria for deadly twin blasts; Damascus rejects ‘false accusations.’ ”
Nine arrests were made. They’re Turkish citizens. Ankara claims they’re Assad loyalists. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu blamed them for an early May attack. Dozens died in Banias, Syria. Davutoglu blamed Syria for both incidents. It’s clear where these accusations are heading. Washington’s orchestrating everything. Turkey is its lead attack dog. It’s part of Obama’s scheme to topple Assad. Libya 2.0 looms.
A Final Comment
Conflicting reports on whether Russia plans selling Syria sophisticated air defense systems surfaced. Washington and Israel expressed concern. Kerry discussed it in Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied intentions to do so. S-300 launch systems and others were mentioned. Lavrov added that Russia and Syria have weapons deals yet to be completed.
Vladimir Putin said existing contracts will be honored. He and others added that weapons supplied are defensive. Netanyahu’s going to Moscow. He plans doing so soon. He’ll urge Putin against supplying Syria with launch systems able to take out invading aircraft.
He’s doing so in the context of Israel’s recent attacks. Lebanon’s Daily Star suggested they were launched from inside Lebanese territory. On May 11, Mossad-connected DEBKAfile (DF) headlined “Netanyahu to visit Putin in a bid to stop his S-300 missile sale to Syria.”
It’s a “last-ditched attempt” to call it off. DF claims doing so is “extremely slim.” “After Israel’s (May 4 and 5 air strikes), nothing would now stop the S-300 deliveries.”
Putin is “placing a severe constraint on Israel’s operational freedom by spreading an anti-air missile cover over the Syrian, Hizballah and the Iranian Basij forces fighting for Bashar Assad.”
“Since the chances of dissuading Putin to abandon this strategy are just about nil, the best Netanyahu can hope for by his face-to-face with the Russian president is a limited accord on ground rules for averting an Israeli-Russian military clash in Syria.”
Whether this suggests Russia will back Syria if US-led NATO intervenes remains to be seen. It’s in Moscow’s interest to prevent replacing its government with a pro-Western one subservient to Washington.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached atlendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled “Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.”
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
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NOTE
For a complete discussion of what the anti-aircraft/missile S-300 system means in geopolitical terms, please read the Wiki page on this topic. Just think of the fact that this weapon, developed in the late 1970s by Soviet Union, and perfected since, is an extremely powerful shield that can change the equation for almost any nation being attacked by the US-led bullies. It’s been long established that air superiority is a critical strategic element in crippling a nation’s defenses. With an S-300 shield the playing field becomes more of a challenge for the attackers. That’s one of the reasons why the abject Netanyahu is seeking an audience with Putin, and why the US and the rest of the imperialist pack do not simply bulldoze countries they decide to invade or destabilize. If properly and timely deployed, Russian weapons can take a high toll in their operations. And bullies don’t like fair odds.
